Cognition

How sharp are you?

Test your low-level cognitive skills

Cognition is a fun app for the iPhone and iPod touch which tests low-level cognitive skills over a variety of topics. The tests are quick and easy to complete, even for young kids!

Low-level cognition refers to very simple aspects of the way we perceive our environment and interact with it efficiently. We use many of these types of cognition in daily life all the time, often without even thinking about it - small tasks usually with some physical involvement and not requiring any linguistic or academic knowledge.

Had enough of math, memory or 'IQ' tests?

Low-level cognition is separate from recall skills, so memory tasks are not part of the tests. There are also no arithmetic tests, and no problems involving language, since these both require some degree of learning and a higher level of cognition. The tasks in Cognition are intended to measure only the innate skills which we have from birth.

At the simplest end of the range, low-level cognitive tasks are almost a reflex action, measuring little more than hand-eye coordination and reaction time. The other end of the spectrum has more complex tasks involving some degree of planning. Currently available topics include:

recognition of color, shape, size, movement

matching objects

pattern recognition

visual balance

timing

motion and momentum

path finding

planning

Most of these activities are simple enough that once we have done them a few times, our brain can usually take care of them at a 'low level', while still remaining capable of other tasks.
For example, if you can do something while carrying on a normal conversation at the same time, that task is most likely a low-level cognitive task for you.

Each of the tests takes only about 1 minute or less, so you can try them in any spare moment.

Compare your results with others

Your best results for each test are recorded along with any relevant statistics such as reaction time and accuracy. You can create multiple profiles on one device to keep results separate for each person, and view the results in a high score table for each test to see how you compare with your friends.

Worldwide scoring - any age, anywhere!

Since none of the activities involve letters or numbers, the results will be directly comparable worldwide regardless of age, literacy, education or language.
Best-scores can be uploaded to the global high-scores tables so you can see how you rank on a worldwide level. Global rankings are also viewable by male/female and age, so you can compare yourself with people similar to you.

View your replays, and other players too

Replay data for the best scores is recorded and can be viewed later. All the input for the test (each finger touch on the screen) is recorded so when you are watching the replay, you can see exactly where the player was touching the screen and how they achieved their score.

Replays from the global high-scores table can be downloaded and watched too! Have you ever seen those impossibly high scores in the global rankings of other games and wondered how that could be done? Well, now you will know.

Great for kids!

Since the definition of low-level cognition is that no language, arithmetic or other learned knowledge is required, most of these tests can be done from a very early age. Once the goal of the test is understood, it should be equally possible to complete it regardless of whether you are too young to know what words and numbers mean, or too old to remember what they were for!
Indeed it will be interesting to see which tasks we perform better when younger...